Leading Canadian investors launch Impact United to mobilize capital for social, economic and environmental justice

For immediate release / Impact United

TORONTO, June 15, 2021 — Today, leading investors across Canada publicly launched a movement that seeks to mobilize billions in capital towards tackling our most pressing problems, from climate change to housing affordability to inequity. The initiative, known as Impact United, is a national peer-led movement and community of investors seeking to mobilize capital towards social, economic and environmental justice, comprised of individuals, families, institutions, faith-based organizations, foundations, and other asset owners.

Impact United is backed by movement leaders and supporters including the Community Foundations of Canada, Inspirit Foundation, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, WES Mariam Assefa Fund, Des Nedhe Group, Trottier Family Foundation, Ontario Trillium Foundation, Vancity, Canadian Women’s Foundation, and First Nations Bank of Canada.

Impact United was formed in response to critical challenges and opportunities. The global health pandemic, along with the widespread call to address injustice, have highlighted a daunting set of critical social, environmental and economic issues in Canada. Canadians collectively have the financial resources to respond and create a more equitable, inclusive, and just future. But the community of current and interested impact investors with capital to tackle our most pressing challenges is disconnected, has capacity limitations, and does not have a means of coordinated action.

Impact United aims to foster coordinated, informed and collective action among existing and prospective impact investors. In addition to facilitating educational programming and collective actions, Impact United will organize events for the community to connect on various subjects of interest.

The first public event for investors is “United for Climate Action” on Tuesday, June 22 from 1–3 pm EDT. It will be an opportunity for investors to explore climate action investing through a keynote speech from Martin Grosskopf, the Vice President and Portfolio Manager, Sustainable Investment at AGF Investments Inc. They will also hear from a panel of institutional investors on their case studies for climate justice investing and a presentation from Low Carbon Cities Canada on urban climate solutions. The goal of this event is to mobilize and empower investors to invest in climate solutions that are both impactful and high return.

At the event, Impact United will also unveil a pledge launching in Fall 2021 that will represent a public commitment for investors seeking to integrate impact into their investment portfolios. Investors will also have the opportunity to support and join Impact United’s Communities of Practice including Climate Action, Affordable Housing, Indigenous Economic Development, and Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion.

Quick Facts

• Ten (10) core Impact United Movement Leaders and supporters collectively represent billions in assets.
• Beyond the core Movement Leaders and Supporters, there are already 75 participants in the Impact United movement engaged in knowledge sharing and collaboration through our online community platform.
• There is an already active impact investing market in Canada with over 1,000 investors and $20 billion mobilized, but the potential is much greater with over 6,000 foundations, 1 million accredited investors in Canada, and 90% interest in impact investing amongst high net worth individuals (HNWIs).
• Impact United has also engaged a leading group of Knowledge Partners to support the movement including the Shareholder Association for Research and Education (SHARE), New Power Labs, Spring, and Impact Frontiers.

Quotes

“As an impact investor, I’m excited to be part of Impact United and to share with and learn from peers across Canada. Creating a community of active impact investors and curating discussions and initiatives within that community will help all of us deploy more of our capital to drive positive social and environmental change.”
— Richard Muller, Peer Leader, Impact United

“Canadians collectively have the financial resources to respond and create a more equitable, inclusive, and just future. We hope that Impact United can help mobilize much needed investment capital alongside community action and good public policy to tackle our most pressing challenges.”
— Adam Spence, CEO, SVX Canada

“If we as capital holders are serious about tackling inequality in a transformative way, we must invest in social enterprises. If we hold philanthropic wealth, we must work towards investing 100% of our capital towards tackling inequality through the development of social enterprises. As holders of capital, we need to stop rearranging the furniture. We must strive for transformation. Incremental changes will not serve communities in the 21st century. It’s time to invite others to lead, manage and govern in the new economy. We need bold, intentional and courageous leaders.”
— Andrew Chunilall, CEO, Community Foundations of Canada

“The need to mobilize capital around impact investments that address climate is urgent and we think Impact United will help not only in bringing the impact investing community even closer but also creating a platform for new investors to join, and allowing institutions to work collectively instead of in silos.”
— Eric St. Pierre, Executive Director, Trottier Foundation

“As an Indigenous business leader of a progressive First Nation group of companies, we know firsthand the importance of securing sustainable investment. Investing with Indigenous businesses is key to building bridges with Canada, investments supports the growth of business into new and sustainable business opportunities. These exciting opportunities lead to the growth in Indigenous employment, training and education within Indigenous communities, and supports the growth of own source revenues for Indigenous communities which promotes self-determination. Des Nedhe Group is proud to partner with Impact United to ensure the Indigenous story and value is heard and to support Impact United efforts to deploy social and environmental investments.”
— Sean Willy, President & CEO, Des Nedhe Group

“Impact investing can play a critical role in catalyzing and scaling solutions to build a more inclusive economy for all. As a funder focused on economic opportunity, inclusion, and mobility for immigrants and refugees, we’re excited to join Impact United and grow the movement of impact investors who are committed to deploying their resources in ways that foster inclusivity, center equity, and advance justice for all in Canada.”
— Monica Munn, Managing Director of Philanthropy, World Education Services

“At Inspirit, we are committed to a 100% impact portfolio, with the goal of using our assets to further our mission of inclusion and pluralism. We are excited to join Impact United to connect with a network of investors ready to drive social change through impact investing.”
—Sadia Zaman, CEO, Inspirit Foundation

“In 1996, we founded the First Nations Bank of Canada to bring both financial and social returns to Indigenous People and Communities who were underserved by existing financial services options. We combined capital from both Indigenous and Non-Indigenous investors who shared a vision of a healthier more prosperous Indigenous Canada with less disparity from the economic opportunity that a job and access to capital can bring. So we have really been engaged in impact investing for 25 years. We are pleased to partner with Impact United and to help advance a movement we have supported for a very long time.”
— Keith Martell, President and CEO, First Nations Bank of Canada and FNB Trust

About Impact United

Impact United is a broad-based, peer-to-peer community and movement of investors seeking to mobilize capital towards social, economic and environmental justice, comprised of individuals, families, institutions, faith-based organizations, foundations, senior staff of family offices or foundations, and other asset owners.

Impact United will seek to connect individuals and organizations to share, learn, and collaborate with each other, collect and share new insights and knowledge for the collective benefit of the community, and facilitate and support shared actions within the community. Instead of acting as a membership body, Impact United seeks to drive transformation, commitments and action by operating as a movement or long-term campaign to engage asset owners in impact investing. Impact United is a strategic initiative that is being hosted by SVX. Investors can join the movement at https://www.impactunited.ca/

About SVX

SVX is a nonprofit, diversified financial services firm driving impact for investors, organizations, funds, and enterprises. We design strategies and products, manage funds, and operate a platform for raising impact capital and making impact investments. We work across sectors that deliver meaningful impact: climate action, health, education, food, equity, housing and impact real estate, helping investors find and make impact investments and issuers raise impact capital.

We work with issuers from place-based impact investing funds to community power co-operatives producing renewable energy to charitable organizations tackling mental health and addictions. We work with all investors, from foundations and family offices to everyday investors, to help them identify opportunities and to support their decision-making efforts so they can match their money with meaning.

SVX is regulated by the Ontario Securities Commission and is registered as an Exempt Market Dealer (EMD) in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario and Québec. We have partners and operations across Canada, as well as in the US and Mexico. For more information about SVX, please visit: https://www.svx.ca/

Media Contacts

Richard Muller, Impact United
richard.muller@svx.ca

Helen Zhou, SVX
helen.zhou@svx.ca

Adam Spence, SVX
adam.spence@svx.ca
647–242–4644